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Kashmir: Raping A Collective Shame

RAPING and killing of tender aged girls by middle or old aged males is a collective embarrassment. There is something seriously wrong with the men.
The incidence of heinous crime of molestation and murder of minors is dangerously increasing. If we can’t stop it, we must die somewhere in dry pond, shamelessly.
Raping becomes a norm now. An order which is being assumed to be entering the cultural territory. Yes, the rape culture it will soon be addressed with. When the word rape and the news about it strikes the minds regularly, it would slowly kill its sensitivity vis-a-vis rape.
So the mind would not mind about the rape as a crime. It would be a common phenomena, not a specific or disturbing one. The equation of thoughts, emotions and beliefs would change. Raping then would be accepted as habit. Which finally would lead to be the part of attitude and then behavour.
Once anything becomes the identity of behavour or character, it is hard to retrieve it from the climax to the brain mechanism to reshape the thought process leading to the manifest results in behaviour.
Or, to put it simply, the paradigm shift would be much more difficult. Because, it would make the entry in subconscious part of mind. And, we shall live up with this mind set quite easily, unless something extraordinary triggers ripples in thinking process to re-arrange it. So, the alarm must wake up us all. Today, it decomposes the individual essence, tomorrow the society would fall prey to it.
Rape is an unpardonable crime. Because, this signals the hegemonic traits of men and the subjugation of women for their no sin that too so brutally. Why is man too free to release his carnal frustration anywhere, anyway or with anyone he chooses to? Why is he so wild to growl over the little angels like Ashifa here and Zainab there across the boarders for his lust and killing them through spine shivering means?
Earlier, these beasts molested Nirbhaya and killed her the way even devil can’t resort to do so. This is a continuous brutality, seldom being noticed or reported. More surprisingly, it is quite away from the ambit of humanity when the men in uniform would turn into wrath over all females of twin villages who could surely fall in the age of their own daughters, sisters, mothers and grandmothers too. This too happened in the near past around us.
The question is not the oppression, religion or resistance, it is the matter of humanity, rights and gender exploitation. By no way, the justification is entertained. It only exposes the perpetuators to the depth of their nature they are wrapped with.
Targeting the soft gender is not bravery. It is an embarrassment for the spirit of humanity, instead. She is mother. She is daughter. She is sister and the better half too. She is significantly an honourable part of God’s broader scheme of perpetuation of universe. She has a status which the men easily ignore.
Yes, the decent, reasonable and wise men never do that. They always extend fair views and care for women of all ages. Such noble men realise that they are not born out of stones. It is actually the woman by who’s pains and agonies they are existing as being themselves.
Neither state nor society succeeds in curbing the incidence of rape. Who else is coming to check it, we are waiting for. Now all parents, who are bestowed with daughters, are apprehensive. The feelings of fear and anxiety grip them all. We claim to be living in enlightened age of mutual trust and respect.
But, shall our daughters and sisters dare to walk alone from bus stop to home in the time ahead in near future? Who is certain to reply in affirmative? Almost none.
Verma Committee, after the much hyped gruesome incidence of Nirbhaya, had recommended certain changes to be effected in the judiciary and police. Nothing was changed.
So remained the rate of incidence as it was. At times, these brutal crimes are politicised too in the midst of heart rendering cries for justice by the victim families. But it fails to strike the ear drums of those who are at the helm.
The recent instance is the case of Ashifa, which is perhaps being communalised in its worst form, an unfortunate part of the painful event. We all must remember that criminals like rapists have no religion.
Any one from any community could be their prey. They have nothing to do with your status, faith, power and position. So, it is not our, your or their issue. It is a serious concern of humanity as whole.
We surely need a tough legal structure to break the back of this unacceptable crime against much revered gender. Because that potentially matters. We hardly listen such a bad news from certain Arab countries.
It must be admitted beyond prejudices that their laws, at least in securing the chastity of women, are effective and functionally correlated with society, as of now. Sooner or latter, we too shall have to come up with something stronger to protect the women folk, if the prevailing dirty mind set continues to dominate.
Strong system doesn’t mean the society is exonerated. No way. Social institutions do have to deliver with more responsibilities and commitment to build up the crime free software of thoughts and beliefs in minds of boys well in the beginning with a proper gauge. It obviously starts from family to schools and to religious institutions.
We are also listening the weird justifications of raping women on streets. Some question their dressing styles and walking late night alone. Reasonable questioning and preaching regarding the decent dresses or so is a right to propagate by both, men and women. If done with manners, it would surely have its impact, too.
But that doesn’t mean any female dressed not properly deserves to be molested and then tortured to death. That is a sick-mind thought. If, for just a moment, we accept such a strange view, but, what is the crime of little girls aging just 7 or 8 years to become the victim of rape and murder? Such minds need a permanent treatment.
Islam never teaches us that which is being put forth by some ill-minded to virtually support the crime. Rather, it enjoins upon both men and women to keep down (gaze-basar) their eyes. If women are accountable for their dresses or deeds, men too are equally answerable regarding the decency of their eyes and purity of heart and thoughts.
—Courtesy: RK
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